


Clones

by JJCross



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Episode: s02e17 An Eye For An Eye, Episode: s04e18 The Kindred Part 1, Mentions of Violence, Vlad character study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 03:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18241220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJCross/pseuds/JJCross
Summary: Vlad's desperate search for family leads him down a path of experimentation, leaving him more alone and broken than ever before.





	Clones

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, welcome. This is basically the episode Kindred Spirits, but from Vlad's crazy perspective. The title is uncreative. Uh, enjoy.

Humiliation. Desperation. Loneliness. 

 

These were  _ not  _ the words Vlad associated with himself, these were  _ not  _ the reasons he began his experiments, and these were  _ not  _ the feelings raging inside him one night in his large castle, alone, when the idea had first popped into his head. No, definitely not. 

 

Desire. Drive. Inspiration.

 

_ These _ were the words Vlad liked to use,  _ these  _ were his reasons for sneaking into the boy’s home to steal a sweaty gym shirt,  _ these _ were the reasons he punched the boy just a tad bit rougher than normal to collect some green ectoplasm,  _ these  _ were the reasons he had sent his vultures to poke and pester the boy at school to bring back a few strands of black hair. Not obsessive. Not creepy. Not immoral.

 

Vlad smiled at the large holding chamber, watching the creature slowly growing inside of it. No...not creature, despite it being nothing more than a clump of cells so far. A person. A child. A son.

 

Weeks passed and with careful guidance and planning, Vlad watched as bones began forming, watched as the skeleton of the being took form. Perhaps Vlad could admit fault at this point, for once he began seeing a structure out of the mass, he may have gotten a bit over excited. He added chemicals too soon in the development. The structure was not ready, not stable and yet the chemicals gave it consciousness. Merely a horrifying mistake, a ghost more than a boy, an incomplete skeleton with a vertebrae for a tail. 

 

The creature called Vlad father but despite Vlad enjoying that name more than he dared believe, that thing was not a son. He threw a blanket over it and commanded it like he did his vultures.

 

The second was given more time to develop but perhaps too much time, and too much chemicals and too much ectoplasm. Again, this one was more ghost than boy. It was more everything than boy, too much muscle mass, too much height, too much strength. He was too big, kept falling apart and melting, Vlad eagerly trying to put him together, fix him, but he just grew and grew and eventually resembled a Frankenstein monster more than a son. Another failure. Another mistake.

 

On the third attempt, Vlad made the necessary calculations first, did his homework, collected more research, heightened his technology. He tried for smaller, more complex and managed it but the creature was too weak. It had no solid form, it was like pure energy or ectoplasm, fizzling into existence with a form so  _ close  _ to what he wanted and yet dissolving in clumps. It fluttered around like a heartbeat, unable to speak like the rest, barely able to understand. 

 

Vlad was angry, he was tired, he was confused. But he was determined. These creatures listened to his every word, obeyed him as they should but they were too weak, too broken to be his family. 

 

He tried once more, months later, pouring his heart into it, the calculations correct, the machines functioning, allowing the being time to mature, to grow, to develop. But along the way, Vlad noticed an error. Minor in the genetic scheme but large in his quest for perfection. An extra X chromosome where a Y should be.

 

So close. So  _ close.  _ This one had intelligence and power, this one had a stable form-- a beautiful form--it had the correct powers and the correct attitude, but it wasn’t right. It was wrong, all wrong, a different voice, a different height, a different body and look, slightly different quirks. It was like a knock off, very similar, but different enough to throw Vlad off. He wanted the real thing. He wanted his own version, not an altered copy. He wanted to be able to look at his son and pretend it was the real one. This one was close, but not quite. Another failure. Another mistake.

 

But because the latest one seemed to have more conscious thought, Vlad treated it like he should: a daughter. It was easier to control that way, making it happy so it would follow him. He promised it love, and happiness, promised to fix that pesky melting problem. Vlad experimented on them all, nothing lethal, just studied them, their information, trying to understand what was missing.

 

Sometimes the girl one would find Vlad working and sit beside him, smiling softly, not saying a word. The others used to do similar things, stand or float beside him, watch him, as though just being near him made them feel better..made them believe he cared, so long as he didn’t push them away. 

 

Sometimes Vlad would smile at the newest one, talk lightly with it. Unlike the others, it called him Daddy.

 

In time, after a lot of extensive research on the mistakes, Vlad began his newest creation, taking it excruciatingly slowly, observing from all the cameras the young huntress had unknowingly collected for him, inputting it all into the computer, analyzing every strand of DNA as they formed, watching unflinchingly as the creation slowly transformed into a boy. Into a son.

 

Vlad’s joy leaked into how he treated his other mistakes, especially the youngest one. He was kinder to it, smiled more often and she was quickly wound around Vlad’s little finger. He used it to get his last piece of the puzzle. The original. 

 

That was the piece Vlad was missing. He had pieces from the source, hair and ectoplasm and skin and fluids, but the problem was was that those pieces were all separate. Some from the human half and some from the ghost half. He needed a connector or his creations fell apart. They were unstable because they were blocks stacked together without glue.

 

The good clone was kept in a chamber to keep it stable until he received the DNA it needed. Vlad worked on a second copy to practice the transfusion once they got what they needed from the boy, just in case. Vlad didn’t want anything happening to this one.

 

His perfect creation. On long nights after the others were away or asleep, Vlad stayed in his lab, watching his son. His son. Vlad would always smile, always feel relief well inside him that it had all worked, that he finally managed to create this amazing being and with one final step, he’d have his family. The others would be melted and studied and then Vlad would be happy.

 

He awakened the clone for the first time, his nerves shot, his heart racing, his eyes wide. The boy’s eyes opened and bright green met Vlad’s bright red. They held and then he smiled. Vlad wanted to cry, he wanted to dance, he wanted to hug the boy and never let go. 

 

The right face, the right form, the right--

 

Vlad moved quickly to the monitor, clicking a button and spoke into a small microphone. “H-hello?”

 

“Hello?” There. The right voice. Every pitch and tone was correct.

 

“Do you know who you are?”

 

Silence and then. “Yeah, I’m Danny.” Vlad’s smile widened.

 

“Do you know who I am?”

 

The boy smiled and nodded out towards Vlad. Those green eyes, usually filled with so much hate and anger and disgust, now shining with love and trust. 

“You’re my dad.”

 

Vlad nodded, unable to speak. He left the microphone on and drifted closer to the chamber, looking up towards his son. Almost complete. He wanted to reach in and grab his hand. He wanted to hold him close. He wanted to teach the boy everything, sit and talk all day, tuck him in at night, laugh together and learn together, have meals together, train together, have someone just like him by his side, always. He wanted someone to chase away the emptiness of this house…

 

Vlad had tried a hologram, initially. Long long before this whole endeavor. She was built into the program of his computer, equipped with some cute sayings and titles like “dearest” and “sweetness”, and she obeyed Vlad’s every word, like the older creations. It was fun at first, nice to have her image there to talk to but she wasn’t  _ real.  _ No physical form to touch, no mind to understand, no heart to love. Just light and a computer and an downloaded image. It became a joke. She was helpful enough, so Vlad kept her, even once his new plan unfolded. 

 

It was after a nasty battle. Both halfas walked away with bruises and cuts. The boy was getting stronger, that much was certain. He was not nearly at Vlad’s level just yet but he was improving. 

 

Names had been shouted, insults thrown, threats and warnings and offers denied again and again. 

 

It drove Vlad crazy, because with every battle he loved this boy more and more. With every encounter he found their banter more playful, more amusing. With every swing and blast, he found this boy’s power incredible, his form and being so much like his own that he knew they just  _ had  _ to come together, join each other. He wanted the boy to accept him, finally put his stupid father out of his head, and stand with someone who would be so much  _ better  _ for him.

 

But with every battle, Vlad’s impatience grew. His anger rose, and with every plan Danny ruined, with every insult and joke gone too far, with every night that Vlad spent alone in his home, he hated the boy. He wanted to slam that brat into the dirt, he wanted to break his neck, he wanted to leave him with his useless, stupid father.

 

It was a mix and it was a mess, and finally after a particularly brutal battle, Vlad dragged himself home to the silence of his castle. And the idea planted itself into his head. At first as a joke, a thought made out in desperate anger. He’d scoffed at it but paused. Vlad was a scientist. A genius with all the money, power and knowledge at his fingertips. He’s broken the basic laws of science before, made advances  _ years  _ beyond the public and even government’s knowledge. Perhaps this idea wasn’t so outrageous. In fact...perhaps this insane idea was his answer at last!

 

“Dad, I’m getting tired.”

 

Vlad blinked away the memories and focused on the present, on his plan’s fruition. His perfect son, finally here, finally his. Almost. It would all almost be his and then the ache in Vlad’s chest that never died, that never faded, that never filled despite how much he tried to fill his life with more money, more power, more  _ stuff... _ it would finally close and he would be whole.

 

He smiled at his boy, whose green eyes drooped, blinking rapidly. Such a sweet boy.

 

“Of course, my dear son,” Vlad said with a nod. He swiftly glided over to the controls, allowing a misty gas to enter the chamber and allow the boy to fall back into a deeper sleep, allowing his body the rest it needed to stay fit and healthy and properly formed. “Sleep now, my son. When you wake up, everything will be set and we’ll be together.”

 

“Really?” The hope in that young voice, the brief flash of joy in those tired eyes…

 

“Yes. I promise.”

 

“That’s good to hear. I can’t wait.” The eyes slipped closed and soft lips curved in a natural, gentle smile. “See you later, Dad.”

 

Vlad put his hand on the glass even as it fogged over, watching as his son drifted back into deep sleep. He stayed there for long minutes, simply watching, remembering those words, that hope, that gentle smile. 

 

“I promise.”

  
...  
  


Everything went off without a hitch and Vlad couldn’t have been any happier. The bad creations had their uses, especially the youngest. Oh how he wished she had come out correctly. It had been Vlad’s mistake, his error, so he didn’t blame her for how she turned out.

 

The young teen hadn’t seen it coming and was now strapped up in a connecting chamber. He was awake, struggling against the restraints, screaming against the pain of the shocks. Vlad might have gone easier on the boy before now, might have felt a twinge of guilt at the pain he was causing, but not anymore. Vlad was beyond caring for this child when he had his own now, when causing this pain meant bringing life to his own son and finally gaining his happiness.

 

The boy’s struggling and resisting caused the chamber to overload, shattering the glass. He transformed and flew right through Vlad, as if the man wasn’t even there.

Enraged, Vlad ordered his youngest to get him back, promising her that this research would benefit  _ her.  _

 

But Vlad’s anger got the better of him. His impatience blew up in his face, his frustration and desperation ruined his plans. The youngest turned on him, released the boy and they managed to fight Vlad off, blasting him into the far chamber. 

 

Vlad fell to the ground, an enormous weight falling onto his back. He rolled the crushing object off of him, rubbing his head before looking over. 

 

The chamber. It was shattered. His son. The clone looked to Vlad, shock on his face as his body slowly began dissolving. “No..” A white gloved hand reached out but Vlad was too slow. “No, no NO!!” Vlad’s cry roared throughout the chalet, rumbling through the ceilings and floors. His son! His promise! His happiness, dissolved into goop, slipped right through his fingers! Gone. Vlad remembered the gentle smile, the hope shining in green eyes, their brief conversation. 

 

Vlad turned his murderous gaze to the mistake that caused this and the original that ruined his life. He’d kill them both.

 

But the boy proved more interesting and more powerful than Vlad had originally believed. A powerful new ability it seemed, a wail that flung Vlad back, that took down all his machines and shorted out his programs, even his powers for a few moments. 

 

But Vlad’s anger was hot and alive, fueling him back into his ghost form, and propelling him forward. The boy was weakened due to his large attack, and the girl couldn’t use her powers or she’d disintegrate, just like his son. It would be so easy now, to wring their necks, to make them pay for what they did to his child!

 

Vlad was hit from the side and everything went black. He remembered the girl briefly, her anger aimed at him and then he was out again. When he awoke, he was alone. His lab was in shambles, everything destroyed, nearly a  _ year  _ of work and time and effort, gone. He crawled through the glass, the shards of metal and spilled liquids, destroying his pristine suit, cutting his arms until he reached the chamber. Green ectoplasm lay in a puddle and Vlad couldn’t help the well of emotions that swelled in his chest, bubbling up and out of his mouth in wrecked sobs, out of his eyes in thick tears. He hunched over the chamber, crying loudly, screaming, bleeding for the son he had glimpsed for a moment, whom he was never able to touch, to hold, to properly love and care for. 

 

Vlad sat there for hours. He didn’t move until the next day, when he awoke with his face sticky from tears, his throat burning, his back and shoulders aching, a dull pain in his bladder and stomach. He was forced to stand, forced to leave the lab and the chalet. 

 

Vlad never returned, unable to bare the loss of his child. He barely ate. He slept for hours. His anger was dulled by his depression but it sat in his core, still burning white hot under the smoke of grief. He didn’t speak, not to the vultures, not to his employees, not to his own reflection. He drifted through his mansion like a specter, silent and grieving and lost. 

 

Vlad Masters does not fall down and stay down long though. Eventually, slowly, like the aching crawl he’d taken through the glass and debris, painful and grueling and slow but necessary, he pulled himself from his sorrow, pulled himself away from that shattered hope that had been his whole world. He forced himself to forget, forced himself to pretend it hadn’t affected him and move on. He needed to be strong. He needed to be in charge of his life, his emotions, the world around him. 

 

Vlad bought himself a new mansion. Bigger and better than his last, full of new Packer’s paraphernalia, new furniture, everything state of the art. A new house, a new him, all impenetrable, like the wall around his heart. He’d be able to forget in here. Everything was new, everything was a fresh start. 

 

Vlad smiled for the first time in a while, allowing himself to bask in this familiar bandage over his wound, this filler that was the only remedy he knew, the only thing that allowed him to forget, that he could bury himself in. Everything was going to be okay again.

 

But again, Vlad found himself surrounded by shambles. Government ghost hunters busted into his new home, destroying everything, reduced it to ash and rumble. Vlad cried out and clung to his possessions, the only things he had left in his life, the only CONSTANT, now taken from him. The wound in his heart bleed a little more.

 

Vlad was going to tell the government men off when a name fell from their lips, a name that caused Vlad to see red, to feel his blood boil in his skin and an ice fill his veins and stop his heart at the memories of a precious boy being reduced to ecto-goop.

 

A war waged on between Vlad and the boy after that, Vlad going a step farther, not letting up even after Danny apologized. This wasn’t about some stupid prank. This wasn’t about the news seeing Vlad nude. This was about everything. All the plans the boy had ruined. All the opportunities missed and destroyed because the little teen had to get in the way. This was about the son Vlad had not been able to have. Vlad would make Danny’s life a living hell, just like Vlad had suffered through the past months, just like Vlad had suffered the past two  _ decades  _ in his loneliness. 

 

It felt good. It was enjoyable. Fun even, toying with the boy, sneakily combatting him, secretly behind and in front of the town’s back. And in the end, the boy was clever. It had enraged Vlad but surprisingly, Vlad had silently applauded the boy in his comeback. They had both come out of the war bleeding and victorious, and so a truce had been settled. For now. And more than anything, it rekindled the old flame Vlad felt for the boy, the desire that had started this whole thing, making him ache to know the boy more, fight with the boy, talk with the boy--

 

But this flame burned him, instead of warmed him. He knew now, that the dream was impossible. He’d lost it. All of it. He’d search for a new dream, he’d fight this boy and push these longing feelings down, away, deep deep into the darkness of his heart until they were smothered by the anger and hurt and power-hungry desire that Vlad wrapped himself in, like a safety wall. The darkness was a comfort, was preferable to the reality of his life. 

 

One day, Vlad would be happy. One day.

 

But for now, Vlad would remain as he always was;

Humiliated. Desperate. Alone.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So this has been sitting in my folder for like...YEARS. I always went back to it, tweaking it and fixing it and I figured it was time to release it into the wild. I love writing about Vlad, he's just such a fun interesting character (who was sadly just...mistreated in the show, Butch why did you do this man so dirty). This was mostly a writing exercise, there's virtually no proper nouns, its written differently than usual, so if it doesn't make sense...I'm sorry. I feel like you need to have watched those episodes to get it but if you're in this tag, I imagine you have.
> 
> Lemme know what you think! I'm going to be posting short stories like this twice a week, for various fandoms, most probably being writing practice like this one. Kudos and comments are welcome, and any helpful criticism would be much appreciated! :) Hope you all have a great day!


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